Attachment for printing machines



1 Nov. 17, 1925.

- I A. BESSAT ET AL 11110111111111 FOR PRINTING mourns Original Filed Sept. 21, 1922 2 sheets-sheet 1 liliii INVENTUR 14. 41712 2:55.12!

[e'an/ Zpuz's 4121 01 5 in mi "TERM-V Nov. 17 1925.

1,561,821 A. BESSAT ET AL ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING mcHINEs Original Filed Sept. 21, 1922 2 shuts-shat 2 iI/[l/l/l' #14 1: 2:15;! Z a1: [is vans Patented Nov. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLPHE BESSAT AND LEON LOUIS LIEVENS, F NANTERRE, FRANCE.

ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING MACHINES.

Original application filed September 21, 1922, Serial No. 589,693. Divided and this application filed November 23, 1923. Serial No. 676,543.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, ADoLPI-rE BESSAT and Lion LOUIS LriivnNs, both citizens of the Republic of France, residing at Nanterre, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Printing Machines, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to sheet-feeding attachments for printing apparatus, and is primarily designed for use in connection with the type of'apparatus shown and described in our prior application, Serial Nun1- ber 589,693, filed September 21, 1922; the

present case being a division of such prior application. 7

The object of our invention is to provide an attachment of the character indicated, embodying certain improved features whereby either single or double sheets may be accurately fed one at a time to the printing mechanism, as hereinafter fully described. Reference may be had to the aforesaid application for a complete understanding of the printing mechanism; but as such mechanism forms no part of the present invention, it has not been described in the following specification nor illustrated with accompanying drawings, excepting in so far as concerns the roller to which the sheets are fed by the present mechanism and which, in turn, delivers them to the printing mechanism. The improved feeding attachment may, however, be also used in conjunction with printing mechanisms other than that disclosed in our prior application, and no limitation to any precise mechanism is, there fore, contemplated.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof but with the cambered bar omitted.

Fig. 3 is a detail View of various additional parts which are used when double sheets are being fed to the printing mechanism.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in-whioh the same numerals are used as in the parent case, the sheet-feeding mechanism or apparatus, as shown, comprises a table 86, provided at. its opposite sides with fixed rails 87 and 88, and itself secured to the printing apparatus by means of a V-shaped strut 91 which is pivoted at the. upper ends of its arms to the under side of the table and is fastened at its apex to the bed of said printing apparatus by a milled or. knurled stud 92. ,This strut 91 acts to securely hold in place a cross-shaft 90 which is included in the printing apparatus and is received adjacent its ends in two slots 89 provided in the lower portions of the enlarged front ends of the rails 87 and, 88.

Inorder to enable paper of different sizes to be used,two paper stops or guide plates 93 and 94 are arranged at the inner sides of the rails and are adjusted by means of milled studs 95 and 96, which are mounted on the outer ends of two horizontal set-screws 97 and 98 attached to the central portions of the guides. A third adjustable paper guide plate or stop 99 is arranged transversely of the table at the rear portion thereof, and is held in position by a screw 100 which works in a longitudinal slot .101 formedin the table; the guide 99 engaging the rear edges of the sheets 102 piled on the table, while the guides 93 and 94 engage the side edges thereof, as will be understood. The front edges of the sheets are engaged by a stop plate 108, the end edges of which have a sliding fit in vertical grooves 104 formed in the front portion of the rails 87 and 88; and on the horizontal upper edge of this stop are mounted two projecting blades 105 which rest u onthe uppermost sheet, the arrangement fieing such, therefore, that the stop and its two blades constitute a follower, the upper edge of which is constantly maintained level with the uppermost sheet throughout thefeeding operation.

Associated with the above-described follower, there is a pivoted shutter 107 to assist in the feed, which is mounted at its front edge on a horizontal shaft 108 journaled in the ends of the rails; the rear edge of the shutter resting on'two pins 106 which project horizontally forward. from the front face of stop103, to which they are affixed, so that as the follower sinks, due tothe diminishing of'the pile of sheets, the shutter will sink with it. bridge the space between ,the follower and the roller 37, (Figs. 1 and 2); said roller feeding the successive sheets into? position The shutter serves to forwardly over the upper faces of said blades, and across'the top of the stop-103 onto the shutter or bridge-107 and thence/"to the roller 37. I the following manner :A pinion'109 1) which is suitably geared to the printing cylinder, or its shaft, is provided with a stud110, to which is pivoted one-end of a connecting rod 111 detachably secured there'- to by a bolt 112 having a head or knob 113. The connecting rod 111 acts'to impart a re'ciprocatory motion to an upwardly-inclined arm 115, secured at its lower endto oneend of a horizontalrocli shaft journa led in bearings 117 fastened to the under face of the feed table; the opposite end of the rock shaft having secured to it a second upwardly-inclined arm 114-.

At'the upper part of'the two arms lliand 115 are provided two guide notches 118, the purpose of which is to enable a lateral reciprocatory movement to be imparted to a horizontal shaft 119, the ends of which pass through said slots 118 and through horizontalslots 120 (Fig. 1) formed in rails 87 and 88. Shaft 119 has pivoted to it two rearwardly-extending arms 121 and 122; and it is these two arms which carry the previously-mentioned' rubber roller 123. A counter-arm 125, provided at its front end with a stop 12 1 for coaction with a crossrod 126 which connects the two rails, is pivoted at its said end on shaft 119 adjacent to arm 121, and extends in' the same direction as and parallel with that arm; and when the parts 124 and 126 come into engagement, as indicated in- Fi 1, the counter-arm is temporarily locked against movement. This arm 125 is provided with front and rear horizontal slots 128and127 which allow shaft 119 and arms 121 and 122 to continue their movement.

Roller 123 is normally free to'rotate about its axis, but means are provided for periodically looking it against rotation, for a purpose presently to be described; and with that object, said roller has fixed at its ends two ratchets 131 and 135 engageable'by oppositely-acting pawls 129 and 13 1 carried, respectively, by the arms 121 and 122. Pawl 129 is normally engaged by the rear end of the counter-arm 125 and, in consequence, is held in inoperative position; but when arm 125 is temporarily looked, as above described,

This roller 123 is operated in and arm 121 passes rearwardly beyond the same, said pawl 129 is thereby released and is moved by a torsion spring 130 into engagement with ratchet 131. As a result, roller 123 is prevented from rotating, so that during the remainder of the rearward movement of the roller it will carry the topmost sheet 102 with it; and since the rear edge of the sheet is in contact with the rear stop or guide 99, such rearward movement will cause said sheet to buckle upward, thereby disengaging its front edge from the blades 105 on the front stop or-follower 103.

After completing its rearward movement or stroke, roller 123 starts to move forward,

and is thereuponlocked-againstrotation by the spring-actuated pawl 13 i carried by arm 122; said pawl riding idly over the teeth of ratchet during that portion of:

the rearward movement of the roller" in which the pawl 129 was'inoperative and the roller, in consequence, was free to rotate. The said roller, due to its being locked, will therefore carry the sheet forward with it;

and during the first two centimeters of this movement, which has a total length of about nine centimeters, the counter-arm 125 and its associated parts are returned to normal position by a spring-.136. The sheetis there by caused to pass over blades 105 and the top of follower 103 onto and across the bridge or shutter 107, whence it is engaged by roller 37 and fed into the printing apparatus. At the conclusion of the forward movement, roller 123 commences to move rearward again, turning freely over thethen uppermost sheet until pawl 129 is released by arm 125 andengages ratchet 131, where after the same operationsrecur as hav-e'previously been described.

In order to effect the feeding ofdouble instead of single sheets, a cambered bar or member 137 (Fig; 1) is positioned uponthe table 86 slightly in front of and parallel with the rear stop orguide 99, and is held in place thereon by pins 138 which fit in holes in the table. The purpose ofthis bar is to effect an upward bending: of the pile of sheets, as indicated at 133 so as to facilitate the buckling produced by the rearward movement of roller 1.13 during the time that it is locked against rotation; and it is assisted in such action by a heavy plate or follower 132 (Fig. which is'di sposed directly againstthe front face of guide 99 and is slidably connected thereto by two studs 14:0 that work in 'ertical slots 139 formed in said guide, the lower edge of the plate resting immediately upon the sheets, as shown. It is to be understood, however. that said bar need only be used under special conditions, as when feeding double sheets, and that at other times it is not used. fence, while it is shown in Fig. 1 a part of the apparatus therein illustrated, it is not lll lit

permanently attached to the paper table but may be removed when desired, as indi cated in Fig. 2.

A sheet counter 14:1 (Fig. 2) is mounted at one side of the feed table and is actuated by arm 115 on rock shaft 116 through the intermediary of a connecting rod 142.

We claim as our invention 1. Sheet-feeding apparatus, comprising a feed table to support a pile of sheets; a stop for engagement with one end of the pile and adapted to move downward automatically as the height of the pile decreases, said stop having projecting means fixed to it; a pivoted shutter mounted adjacent the stop and resting at one edge on said projecting means; and a device for feeding the sheets one at a time over said stop.

2. Sheet-feeding apparatus, comprising a feed table to support a pile of sheets; a stop plate for engagement with one end of the pile mounted to slide in a vertical plane and provided at its top with blades adapted to rest upon the topmost sheet, said plate moving downward automatically as the height of the pile decreases; projecting means aflixed to said plate; a pivoted shutter mounted adjacent said plate and resting at one edge on said projecting means; and a device for releasing the sheets one at a time from said blades and feeding them thereover.

3. The combination, with a feed table to support a pile of sheets, of feeding mechanism for the sheets embodying: a roller positioned transversely of the pile and resting directly thereon, means for moving the roller backward and forward bodily over the pile, pawl-and-ratchet means associated with the roller for looking it against rotation during its bodily movement in each direction and including a pair of reverselyacting pawls normally tending to engage the ratchet means, and means movable into contact with one pawl during a portion of the movement of the roller in one direction, thereby to disengage that pawl and maintain such disengagement for the duration of such contact, but thereafter movable away from said pawl to enable its automatic reengagement with said ratchet means during the remainder of such movement.

4. Sheet-feeding apparatus, comprising a feed table to support a pile of sheets; front and rear stops thereon to engage the corpositioned transversely of the/pile and resting directly thereon, a carrier for the roller, means for reciprocating said carrier to move the roller backward and forward bodily over the pile, a ratchet'fixed to each end of the roller, a pair of oppositely-acting springpressed pawls pivoted to the opposite side membersof the carrier for engagement with the corresponding ratchets, one pawl being engaged wlth its assoclated ratchet durlng the movement of the carrier in one direction 7 of the carrier in the last-named direction but thereafter automatically releasing it to enable such engagement during the remainder of that movement.

6. Sheet-feeding mechanism according to claim 8, in which the pawl-holding and releasing means comprise an arm associated with the adjacent side member of the roller carrier and adapted to engage the pawl and thereby hold it away from the ratchet, means yieldingly connecting said arm and carrier member to enable the former to move with the latter and thereby maintain its engagement with said pawl, and means for stopping said arm at a predetermined point in its travel to withdraw it from engagement with said pawl.

7 Sheet-feeding apparatus, comprising a feed table to support a pile of sheets; front and rear stops thereon to engage the corresponding edges of the pile, the front stop consisting of a plate mounted to slide in a vertical plane and provided at its top with blades which project over the topmost sheet and bear upon the same; and a feeding device embodying a roller positioned transversely of and resting upon the pile, means for moving the roller backward and for ward bodily over the pile, and means for automatically locking said roller against rotation during the latter portion of its rearward movement and during the initial portion of the succeeding forward movement, thereby to cause it to carry the topmost sheet with it during such locked periods so as to successively buckle said sheet, disengage it from said blades and then move it forward. over the top of said plate and blades; said plate moving downward automatically as the height of the pile decreases.

8. Sheet-feeding apparatus, comprising a feed table to support a pile of sheets; front and rear stops thereon to engage the corresponding edges of the pile; a removable cambered bar mounted upon the table adjecent the rear stop to produce an upward bending of the pile; a weight slidably en;

' of the pile and resting directly upon the gaged with said-rear stop and adapted to rotation (luring predetermined periods in its rest'upon the pile; and a cl evice for feeding movements in opposite directions, thereby 10 the sheets one at a time over the front stop," t W it to Carry the P Q 511956 with embodying a roller positioned transversely 1t l g Such l PB In testin ony whereof, We affix our signasame, means for moving the roller backward turesv i ADOLPHE BESSAT.

and forward bodily over the pile, and means for automatically looking said roller against LEQN LOUISLIEVENS. 

